Prophylactic packaging machine



Dec. 27, 1955 Y. H. KURKJIAN 2,723,505

PROPHYLACTIC PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Aug. 21, 1951 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 S A TX 1955 Y. H. KURKJIAN PROPHYLACTIC PACKAGING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 35 Filed Aug. 21 1951 5 ATTORNEY PROPHYLACTIC PACKAGING MACHINE Yervant H. Kurkjian, Clifton, N. J., assignor to Kurk Products Co., Clifton, N. 3., a corporation of New Jersey Application August 21, 1951, Serial No. 242,886

7 Claims. (Cl. 226-4) This invention relates to a prophylactic packaging machine, and has for one of its objects the production of a simple and efficient means for facilitating the insertion of a prophylactic article into a centered position within a container or casing.

, Another object of this invention is the production of a simple and efficient means for automatically restricting the end of a prophylactic to facilitate the centering thereof intermediate the end of the packaging tubing or casing.

A further object of this invention is the production of a simple and efiicient tube holding means comprising holding jaws having downwardly beveled or receding entrance ends which act as guides to deflect the prophylactic downwardly away from the jaws into a receiving receptacle below the machine, should a packaging tubing through inadvertence fail to be carried by the jaws in a position to receive the prophylactic as it passes between the feeding discs toward the jaws.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear throughout the following specification and claims.

in the drawings:

Figure l is a top plan view of the machine showing the parts in an initial position where the packaging tubing and the prophylactic have been dropped in place prior to assembly;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the machine showing the parts in a position where the tubing and prophylactic are in a feeding disc engaging position, the prophylactic being shown also in a dotted position partly inserted in the tubing;

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the machine showing the parts in a position where the prophylactic is in an inserted position within the tubing but is not centered intermediate the ends of the tubing;

Figure 4 is a top plan view similar to Figure 3, with the parts in a completed position for centering the prophylactic intermediate the ends of the tubing;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary transverse sectional view through the top plate of the machine showing the jaws in a tube receiving position;

Figure 6 is a view similar to Figure 5, showing the tubing dropped to a position between the jaws;

Figure 7 is a view similar to Figures 4 and 5, showing the tubing in a gripped and filling position to receive the prophylactic;

Figure 8 is a side elevational view looking at one side of one of the jaws and the edge of one of the feeding discs, illustrating the manner in which the prophylactic is inserted into the tubing;

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8, showing the manner in which the prophylactic is deflected downwardly should the tubing fail to be in position between the jaws to receive the prophylactic;

Figure 10 is a top plan view of one of. the jaws;

Figure 11 is a top plan view of the'machine, certain parts being broken away, and showing the packaging tubing filled and in a position to be dropped into a receiv- C "ice ing receptacle with the jaws spread to a releasing position;

Figure 12 is a fragmentary side elevational view, certain parts being shown in longitudinal section, and illustrating the conventional actuating means;

Figure 13 is a top plan view illustrating the actuating rack for the plunger, the spreading means for the jaw supporting arms and the abutment for the prophylactic feeding slide;

Figure 14 is a top plan view, partly in section, of a modified form of feeding disc.

By referring to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that 10 designates the body of the machine, which carries a pair of transverse aligned, properly spaced, prophylactic feeder discs 11 and 12. These discs are mounted upon suitable vertical supporting shafts 13 and 14 carried by conventional journal boxes 15 and 16 carried by the body 10. Actuating gears 17 and 18 are carried by the shafts 13 and 14, and mesh with the parallel rack bars 19 and 20 of the rack member 21. This member 21 carries a longitudinal pusher bar 22.

Jaw supporting arms 23 and 24 are pivoted in spaced relation to one end of the body 10, as at 25 and 26. These arms extend longitudinally of the body in substantially parallel relation and carry rollers 27 and 28 which engage a wedge-shaped plate for spreading thearrns 23 and 24 apart in timed relation to the rotation of the discs 11 and 12. A coil spring 29 normally holds the arms 23 and 24 in retracted position to keep the rollers 27 and 28 in contact with the wedge-shaped plate 30. The plate 30 is carried by the rack member 21, and as the rack member 21 moves in the direction of the arrow in Figure 13, the shafts 13 and 14 will be rotated in opposite directions as indicated in Figures 1 and 2. The wedge-shaped plate 30 will also move with the rack member 21 and by contacting the rollers 27 and 28 the arms 23 and 24 will be spread apart to shift the jaws 32 and 33 laterally. These jaws are secured to the arms 23 and 24 near the outer ends thereof, as shown in Figure 11. The rack member 21 is reciprocated longitudinally of the body It) by means of an actuating link 34 which is pivoted to a depending lug 34 of the member 21 at one end and to a crank arm 35 of a suitable motor 36 at the other end thereof. Since the jaws 32 and 33 are secured to the outer ends of the jaw supporting arms 23 and 24, as shown in Figure 11, these jaws will be alternately moved, in timed relation to the rotation of the discs 11 and 12, toward and away from each other uponeach revolution of the crank arm 35. The outer ends of the jaw supporting arms 24 and 25 are spread apart as the wedge-shaped plate 30 moves forwardly between the rollers 2'7 and 28, and the arms are drawn together by the spring 29 when the plate 30 is withdrawn. The plate 30 is carried, by the rack member 21 and the rack member 21 carries the depending lug 34 which is connected to the crank arm 35 by the link 34*. The discs 11 and 12 are in turn rotated alternately in opposite directions by the actuating gears 17 and 18 as the rack member 21 is moved forwardly and rearwardly by the rotation of the crank arm 35. The motor 36 shown in dotted lines in Figure 12 may be of any desired type and is mounted in a suitable housing 36. The motor 36 carries the conventional crank arm which is located exteriorly of the housing 36a.

A feeder plate 37 is slidably mounted upon the body 10, and is provided with a semi-circular notch 38 formed at its forward end 39. Adepending lug 40 works in a longitudinal slot 41 in the body 10. This lug 40 is engaged by an expansion spring 42 to normally urgethe feeder plate 37 toward the feeder discs 11 and 12. The feeder plate 37 is adapted to be moved to a suitable position rearwardly, as shown in dotted lines in Figure 2, as the end 43 of the rack member 21 abuts the lug 40. This Patented Dec. 27, 1955 movement will provide a space 44 sufiicient in size between the semi-circular end 33 of the plate 37 and the feeder discs 11 and 12 to receive the circular rolled prophylactic 45 in the manner shown in Figure l.

The above noted actuating elements may be of any suitable type, such as are used in many automatic machines and are adapted to operate in proper sequence and in proper timed relation to accomplish the desired results. The above referred to mechanism has been illustrated and described generally to set forth a proper operation of the novel features described in detail in the following.

The body is provided with an opening 46 in the top thereof, through which opening 46 the packaging tubing 47 is adapted to drop directly upon the gripping jaws 32 and 33 above referred to. The jaws are at this time in the position shown in Figures 1 and 5, wherein their adjacent edges are inset relative to the sides of the opening 46. In this way the tubing 47 will be initially supported upon the top of the adjacent jaws 32 and 33, as shown in detail in Figure 5. The jaw 32 is provided with a longitudinally extending V-shaped channel 48 along its inner edge, and the jaw 33 is provided with a longitudinally extending V-shaped channel 49 along its inner edge, the channels 48 and 49 facing each other, as shown in Figures 5, 6 and 7. The jaw 32 is provided with a protruding lip 50 along the lower edge of the channel 48 and the jaw 33 is provided with a protruding lip 51 along the lower edge of the channel 49, the lips 50 and 51 extending toward each other and beyond the inner edges of the respective jaws. These lips 50 and 51, as shown in Figure 5, provide a supporting ledge for the tubing 47 when the jaws 32 and 33 are spread apart a measured distance to allow the tube or tubing 47 to drop into the channels 48 and 49. As the jaws are again moved toward each other to the position shown in Figure 7, the side edges of the tubing 47 will be squeezed toward each other to open the tubing as shown in Figure 7, so that the prophylactic may be inserted therein. The tubing also will be firmly held between the jaws to receive the prophylactic. The jaws are moved toward and away from each other in timed relation to receive and grip the tubing 47. The outer end of each jaw is curved downwardly and inwardly, as at 52see Figure 9.

The disc 11 is provided with a concave peripheral channel 53, and the disc 12 also is provided with a peripheral concave channel 54. These channels 53 and 54 receive the prophylactic as it is forced against the peripheries of the discs 11 and 12 by the feeder plate 37. Since these discs are spaced slightly, the prophylactic will be compressed between the peripheries of the discs 11 and 12,

and will be fed toward the tubing 47. The pusher bar 22 at the same time pushes the tubing 47 firmly against the peripheries of the discs in abutting relation, as shown in Figure 2. The tubing at this time is also gripped between the jaws, as shown in Figure 2. The discs 11 and 12 which are actuated by the rack member 21, rotate toward each other as the rack member 21 moves longitudinally. The rotation of these discs 11 and 12 feeds the prophylactic toward and into the tubing 47. Since the tubing 47 abuts against the peripheries of the discs,

the prophylactic cannot be completely or properly inserted into the tubing.

Consequently, I provide gaging areas such as the filler members 55 in disc 11, and 56 in disc 12, to substantially close the channels 53 and 54 respectively at selected locations. As the discs 11 and 12 continue to rotate toward each other, the gaging areas will contact the end of the prophylactic and push it further into the tube from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 11. In this way the prophylactic 45 will be properly centered within the tubing 47 intermediate the ends of the tubing which could not otherwise be accomplished with the apparatus disclosed. The trade demands that the prophylactics be properly and evenly inserted into the tubing for convenient multiple packing, and heretofore the centering has necessarily been done by hand, which is time-consuming and expensive. By providing the downwardly curved end 52, should a prophylactic move toward the jaws, and a tubing is not in place to receive the same, the end 52 will deflect the prophylactic downwardly into the container 57 shown in dotted lines in Figure 12. This container 57 is placed below the opening 46 and also receives the filled tubings 47 as they are released in a manner shown in Figure l.

The formation of the channels 48 and 49 in the jaws 32 and 33 is important, as illustrated and described to properly hold the tubing 47 in place while inserting the prophylactic element therein. The inwardly protruding lips and 51 of the jaws 32 and 33 at the bottom of the channels 48 and 49 prevent the tubing 47 from dropping from the jaws and into the receptacle 57 without being filled. Furthermore, the curved end 52 of each jaw will deflect the prophylactic element 45 downwardly into the receptacle 57 and prevent the element 45 from passing through the machine when there is no tubing 47 to receive the same. The uncased prophylactic elements 45 may then be removed from the receptacle 57 or discarded. By means of these improved features the tubings 47 will be automatically filled without the necessity of the operator adjusting the prophylactic in a centered position within the tubing by hand. From a sanitary viewpoint, as is the case with all such articles, used in the medical field, it is important that personal handlingof the articles in producing and assembly be eliminated as much as possible. Furthermore, the reduction in cost in assembly is an important element.

As is shown in Figure 14, the feeder discs may be constructed so as to provide the disc, such as the disc 11, with an integral gaging area within the'channel 53.

It should be understood that certain detail changes in the construction and arrangement of parts may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as such changes fall within the scope ofthe appended claims.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new is:

l. A machine of the class described comprising a body, feeder discs rotatable upon said body, a feeder plate for moving an article to a position to be gripped by said discs, means for receiving a tubing to be filled, means movable upon said body for moving a tubing in abutting contact with the discs, and means carried by said discs for centering an article intermediate the ends of a tubing after the article has been partly moved into said tubing.

2. A machine of the class described comprising a body, feeder discs rotatable upon said body in a direction toward each other, each disc having a peripheral channel, means movable upon said body for moving a compressible article to a position to be engaged between the discs within said channels, means movable upon said body for moving a tubing to a position adjacent said discs to receive the compressible article, and said channels having gaging areas at selected locations to further move the article into the tubing as the discs rotate to center the article intermediate the ends of said tubing.

3. A machine of the class described comprising a body, feeder discs rotatable upon said body in a direction toward each other, each disc having a peripheral channel, means movable upon said body for moving a compressible article to a position to be engaged between the discs within said channels, means movable upon said body for moving a tubing to a position adjacent said discs to receive the compressible article, said channels having gaging areas at selected locations to further move the article into the tubing as the discs rotate to center the article intermediate the ends of said tubing, and both of said mentioned means being mounted on said body for operation in timed relation to each other to facilitate the assembly of the tubing and the article.

4. A machine of the class described comprising a body, feeder discs rotatable upon said body in a direction toward each other, each disc having a peripheral channel, means movable upon said body for moving a compressible article to a position to be engaged between the discs within said channels, means movable upon said body for moving a tubing to a position adjacent said discs to receive the compressible article, said channels having gaging areas at selected locations to further move the article into the tubing as the discs rotate to center the article intermediate the ends of said tubing, jaws carried by said body for receiving the tubing, said jaws being mounted upon said body for movement toward and away from each other to alternately grip and release the tubing, said jaws having inwardly protruding tubing supporting ledges to support the tubing between the jaws, and the jaws having facing channels to receive the side edges of the tubing while receiving the compressible article.

5. A machine of the class described comprising a body, feeder discs rotatable upon said body in a direction toward each other, each disc having a peripheral channel,

means movable upon said body for moving a compressible 1 article to a position to be engaged between the discs within said channels, means movable upon said body for moving a tubing to a position adjacent said discs to receive the compressible article, said channels having gaging areas at selected locations to further move the article into the tubing as the discs rotate to center the article intermediate the ends of said tubing, jaws carried by said body for receiving the tubing, said jaws being mounted upon said body for movement toward and away from each other to alternately grip and release the tubing, said jaws having inwardly protruding tubing supporting ledges to support the tubing between the jaws, the jaws having facing channels to receive the side edges of the tubing while receiving the compressible article, and each jaw "I a position to receive an article as it passes between said rotary feeder elements, and said feeder elements, feeder plate, and pusher bar being mounted for action in timed relation to move an article to the feeder elements. to move a tubing into a receiving position and to move an article into the tubing.

7. A machine of the class described comprising a body, an article feeding means, a plurality of laterally movable tubing supporting jaws adapted to support a tubing to be filled with an article received from said feeding means, said jaws having facing channels to receive said tubing, said jaws having protruding ledges extending toward each other and extending beyond the jaws to receive and support a tubing dropped between the jaws, and said jaws being movable toward and away from each other at timed intervals for alternately gripping and releasing a tubing having a downwardly and inwardly curved forward end 35 dropped therebetween.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,909,050 Ferguson May 16, 1933 2,134,046 Jost Oct. 25, 1938 2,413,556 Fourness et al Dec. 31, 1946 2,557,181 Flack June 19, 1951 

